


Magic treehouse

by JoyBooth



Category: Pitch (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-26
Updated: 2016-11-10
Packaged: 2018-08-27 01:21:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 8,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8382445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JoyBooth/pseuds/JoyBooth
Summary: After a hard loss, no one can find Ginny except maybe Mike.





	1. Chapter 1

It was the off season, and while Amelia wanted her to be out getting endorsements. All Ginny wanted to do was take a break. The season had been rough. Every time she finally felt like her head was above water, something new was dragging her down. Her team had come around. They weren't her biggest fans, but the didn’t blame her for every loss anymore. 

At least that was until she lost them the wild card slot. They were so close everyone could taste it, and in one throw, she had lost it for them. They were up by one at the bottom of the ninth a runner on first and two outs. All she had to do was throw one more strike. 

Mike called for a fastball, but she waved him off. She threw a curve instead, which the batter hit into left field. Both runners sped around the bases and that was that. Their season was over. Blip gave her a pat on the shoulder, and a ‘we’ll get’em next year’ as he jogged off the field. No one else said a word. By the time she came out of her little closet only Amelia was left in the clubhouse. 

The drive to her apartment was short. Amelia knew her well enough to know she didn’t want to talk. She offered to clear her schedule for a few weeks. Ginny agreed. The next morning she googled American airlines to book a plane ticket. 

She had considered going back to Tarboro, but she wasn’t ready to deal with her mother just yet. Texas wasn’t particularly appealing either. Then she remember an article she had read in the cheesy in-flight magazine. 

Three hours later she boarded a plane for Portland. She had traded in her trademark red beats for earbuds and sunglasses, easily disappearing into the crowd. The TSA agent looked at her ID then her face and almost blew her cover, but she gave him a conspiratorial wink and he waved her through. 

The flight was quiet. She sat next to a kid who only looked up from ipad when the drink cart passed. A rental car was easy enough to find. With a quick stop at whole foods, she was headed out of the city.

Amelia wasn’t worried. Well, she was, but she wasn’t in full stress mode yet. The day after the Padres lost the wild card game she went by to check on Ginny, but she was gone. Amelia sent Ginny a text telling the ballplayer she had cleared the schedule for a week. She hoped for a response, but none came. That was Wednesday. 

When she still hadn't heard from her client on Friday, she drove to Mike’s apartment. It took him nearly five minutes to come to the door. 

“Amelia? Do you know what time it is?” Mike groaned.  
“Almost noon,” she answered, rolling her eyes. “Have you heard from Ginny?”

“Baker? Not since the game. Shouldn’t you know where she is?”

Amelia bristled. “She needed some space. I haven’t seen her since after the game either.”

Mike stepped back from the door. 

“Coffee?” He asked.

“Sure.” She followed him to the kitchen as he tried to shake off the remnants of sleep. 

“You already went by her place?” 

“Most of her stuff is still there, but her gym bag, mitt and cleats aren't.”

“So, like gone. Gone.”

“Yeah.”

“Shit.”

“I was hoping she might have said something to you about her plans.”

“No clue. You checked with her mom and Will?”

“Yes, there was a charge for a plane ticket, but she isn't in Carolina.”

“Shit, what about Sanders?”

“Mike, I have checked everywhere.”

“Ok!” He growled. Amelia just raised an eyebrow. He scrubbed his hands through his hair roughly. “God, I don’t fucking know? She could be anywhere. Check twitter, it seems to know everything.” 

“This isn't helpful. Call me if you think of anything,” Amelia snapped. 

Mike waited until he heard her car pull out of the driveway before pulling his phone out. He had almost texted her so many times in the last few days, but he could never think of what to say. Again he started to type, erased, typed and erased. Finally, he went with a simple, hey. 

The tenth time he picked up his phone to check for a response, he almost threw it into the wall. He shouldn’t have let it go so long. He should have talked to her after the game. He didn’t want to think about why not knowing where she was bothered him so much. Instead, he focused on thinking about where the hell she had gone. 

It had to be somewhere isolated. If she were around people, someone would have posted about it. It had to be somewhere calming. Ginny liked her quiet time. It was probably somewhere by the ocean. She had told him once that she loved the sound of the ocean. 

As he thought about that conversation, he remembered that she had been reading the inflight magazine. An article about a treehouse hotel near Portland. She had something about reading the magic treehouse books in school, but never actually having a treehouse growing up. 

It couldn’t be that simple. He googled the hotel information and called. A moment later a woman answered. She told him that Sandy Koufax checked in on Wednesday. Three hours later he boarded a plane for Portland. 

Ginny was laying in a hammock reading Me before you, when she heard a familiar voice. 

“Hey Rookie, what’s the password?” Lawson yelled in a stage whisper. 

She got up and looked over the railing of her balcony. Sure enough, there in the middle of the woods in Oregon stood Mike Lawson. 

“What are you doing here? How did you find me?”

“I asked you first.”

She looked at him, clearly confused and suspicious.

“What’s the password?”

It finally clicked, and she bit back a smile. She thought for a minute. “It’s … Padre’s rule and Cubs drool.”

He laughed. “Now that is my kinda password. Padre’s rule and Cubs drool.”

“Come on up.” 

“Nice little sanctuary you got here.”

“The stairs weren't to hard on your knees, old man?”

“Na, I have been taking in pretty easy the last few days. Not as easy as you though. This is some next level slacking. Do they even have a weight room here?”

Ginny ignored his bating. “What are you really doing here, Lawson?”

“Amelia was worried.”

She groaned and slumped on a wicker chair. “I forgot you guys were together. Where is she?”

“I didn’t know you knew about us. We aren't together anymore. She’s not here. She came around my place looking for you. I said I didn’t know anything. Then she left and I remembered that time you were telling me about the magic treehouse and I figured it out.”

“I’m sorry you guys didn’t work out,” she sighed. “But you still told her where I was…”

“I didn’t anyone anything. What you tell me stays between you and me.” He watched as her shoulders relaxed a bit.

“I’m sorry about the game,” she said after a long moment of silence. 

“You win some, you lose some,” he shrugged. 

She chuckled bitterly. 

“You’ve got a lot of years left to the World Series. You’ll get there.”

“Why are you being so nice to me? I called you off. I lost the game for you.”

Mike was shocked to hear her voice crack. He had really screwed up. He should have known his rookie would blame the whole thing on herself. 

“You waved me off. You do that all the time. It’s kinda your MO. No one player loses a game, though. We win as a team or we lose as a team. And if Murphy had caught the damn ball and not chased it around the field for five fucking minutes, we would have won.”

“But you… you know, didn’t even talk to me or anything, and everyone was just gone. I know the guys blame me. I was just making friends, and now I’m going to start next year with everyone hating my guts again.”

“I was pissed. I hate losing. And yeah, I wasn’t really happy with you for the wave off, but by the next morning I was over it. As for everyone leaving, you took like 2 hours in the shower. I waited for a while but damn. I think I know why there are a drought in Texas.” 

She fought off a reflexive smile. “You don’t hate me?”

“Na, I don’t hate ya.”

“You want a beer?”

“Yeah, but I can’t stay long. I gotta figure out where I’m going stay tonight. Some young rookie made me chase her across state lines.”

Ginny laughed. “You can stay here. There’s an extra bed, and they have a killer breakfast buffet.”

“Now your talking!” 

When Amelia called him that night to see if he had come up with anything, his phone went directly to voicemail. She shook her head and hoped that he could get Ginny to come back home before the week was out. Covergirl wouldn’t wait forever.


	2. Spa daze

As much as she had enjoyed her solitude, Mike’s company was a welcome surprise. He didn’t demand anything of her. When he first showed up, she was a little worried about offering to let him stay. Not because she thought he would try anything, but because she really just needed to not think about baseball and the fact that she was the first woman in MLB for five minutes. 

Once he had found out there wasn’t a TV, Mike had spent most of the evening playing clash of clans on is phone. He didn’t exactly ignore her, it was just that they could be in the same room without feeling the need to speak. 

She had given him a tour of her little villa. Then she settled back down with her book. When he got up to get a bottle of water, he offered her one. When she laughed out loud during a certain passage, he asked her what was so funny. She thought he would make fun of her choice in reading materials, but he just asked if he could borrow it when she was done. 

That night, they had laid in their beds, turned toward each other. One would tell the other to go to sleep. They would both close their eyes. Then one would think of something they wanted to tell the other. They would open their eyes and find the other already looking, laugh and tell their ‘one last thing.’ It was the first sleep over party Ginny had ever been to, and she fell asleep completely relaxed and laughing.

“I still can’t believe you don’t have a tv in your room, Rookie. What the hell have you been doing with all your down time?” Mike asked as he dipped his third waffle in syrup the next morning at breakfast. 

“I usually get up, go for a 5 mile run, followed by an hour of circuit training, then head shower and spend the rest of the reading or watching game tapes on my laptop. Skip sent me all the tapes from that last series and…”

“You do know it is the off season, right Baker?”

She rolled her eyes at him. “And I guess you’ve been taking full advantage of that old man. Have you even been to the gym since the last game?”

“No, I have not. I had much more important things to do?”

“Ok, so I was sitting on my couch watching game tapes and eating take out. Sue me.”

“Learn anything interesting from the game tapes?”

“Not really.”

“There is a spa on the grounds. We could get massages,” she offered. Mike shrugged. With the amount of injures he had worked through over the years, a massage was nothing new. In fact, he and Rachel had often gone to the spa together. 

“If we are doing this, I want the whole deal, facials, mansion, pedis, the works.”  
Ginny choked on her orange juice. 

“What a man can’t like being pampered?” He asked. 

“He can… I guess. I just never pictured someone like you going to a spa. How would they even give you a facial with that squirrel on your face?”

“You love the beard and you know it,” he said with a glare. Ginny just rolled her eyes. 

The sight of her team captain in a pedicure chair, hands covered in wax, face covered in green goo, cucumbers on his eyes, should have been weird, but somehow mike made t work. Maybe it was the fact that he looked completely comfortable cracking jokes with the woman cutting his toe nails. Maybe it was the fact she has had three mimosas. Either way moment is a little surreal. 

“You still over there, Baker?” He asked. 

“Yeah, I’m here.”

Mike leaned forward and took the cucumbers off his eyes. He looked at them for a moment before throwing one into his mouth. “You’re not laughing at my jokes. This is my grade A material. Tina is about 2 seconds from busting a gut, and you are just over there radio silent.”

“Tina is getting paid to laugh at your bad jokes, old man,” she teased.

He mimed an arrow hitting him in the chest. “You see what I have to put up with, Tina? Now you know why I had so much tension in my shoulders. This little pain in the ass has been keeping me on my toes all season.”

“I don’t know, Mr. Lawson. Seems to me you had a pretty good season once this one got called up,” Tina smirked, winking at Ginny. 

“You’re all working together,” he sighed, leaning back again. “Wake me when it’s time for lunch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I am expanding this, comment if you have an idea for something they can do.


	3. Scrabble shark

“Treb-u-chet? I call bullshit.”

“Trebuchet, Baker. It is basically a better designed, french catapult.”

“But it’s french. That doesn't count. The words have to be in english.”

"Look, you little punk, I let you get away with reb which you only knew because you cheat at words with friends. It’s a word just total my score.”

Ginny grumbled but scribbled a 14 in his column.

“I think you forgot about the double letter under c and the triple word under the second t.”

Ginny scratched out the 15 and added a 54. “This is nobody wants to play words with you.”

“Because I can kick all of your butts without cheating?”

“No, because you are so damn smug about it. Where do you even learn words like that?”

“It’s called college, Rookie. Not all of us get drafted straight out of high school.”

She kept rearranging her tiles, but she couldn’t come up with more than a 3 letter word. “You seriously went to college?”

“Uh, yeah, I was one semester away from graduating when the Padre’s called.”

“Oh, so it’s not like you have a degree or anything.” She played the word hit and wrote down a 6 in her column. 

“I finished my degree at Cal-Tech in the offseason with a little help from correspondence classes. You seriously didn’t know?”

“It was before my time, old man. If you were 22, I was 9.”

“God, don’t remind me,” he shook off a full body shiver. “I have a bachelor’s degree in engineering. The original plan was to keep going, get my Master’s, but then I met Rachel and my career took off. There just wasn’t time for everything.”

“Wow, who knew Mike Lawson was a closet nerd.”

“A nerd who won’t be paying for dinner,” he said, laying down the word JUKEBOX. 

“This was rigged. You are a scrabble shark,” she accused. 

“Whatever you gotta tell yourself, Rook. Just know that I am ordering lobster and dessert.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short I know, but I really just wanted to do little snippet of their time together.


	4. Crosswords are puzzling

Ginny was at the final game of the World Series. She wasn’t sure how she knew it was the final game of the World Series, but she knew. She was on the mound. Mike was in his position behind home plate. He gave her a nod and called for the screwball. She threw it. It landed squarely in his glove and the stadium erupted around them. The whole team rushed the field, but her eyes were trained on Mike. He had run straight to her scooping her into his arms and spinning around. 

“You did it,” he said over the deafening crowd. 

“We did it,” she smiled. She leaned down to press her lips to his, when WAM 200 pounds of Mike lawson landed on her bed. 

“Hey, what's a four letter word for ‘give an edge’?”

Ginny blinked and pulled the covers from over her head. “Did you just wake me up to help you with a crossword puzzle? You really are an OLD man…”

“Come on, it’s ten o’clock. I’m starving, and this is the last clue.”

“Ok, tell me again.”

“Four letters, ‘give an edge’?”

She closed her eyes and tried to shake off the memory of her dream. She did not need to think about kissing Mike when he was laying next to her in bed. She had to focus on the clue. Give an edge… Give an edge. 

“You know you could just google it, right?” She wiggled in the covers, stretching out her leg which led to her being pressed into his space. He smelled like mouthwash, coffee and old spice. 

"That’s cheating…” He tried to ignore how beautiful she looked rumble from sleep. Maybe jumping into bed with her hadn't been such a good idea after all. His eyes dropped to her lips then back to her dark eyes. They just looked at each other for a long moment neither quite sure if it was a good idea. Then, suddenly Ginny pulled back. Her long legs slipped out of the blankets. Her sleep shorts had ridden up exposing nearly the entire length of her legs. 

“It’s hone, I think. I’m going to grab a shower. Then if we hurry we can still hit the buffet.”

“Yeah, that sounds good,” Mike said jumping up himself. “I’ll um, just make you a coffee?”

The bathroom door was already closed. He didn’t hear a reply, so he just tossed the crossword on his bed and hoped he hadn’t just screwed up his best friendship in years.


	5. A little shipper heart

Amelia Slater was officially irritated. When Ginny disappeared she had been worried. Not really for the girls safety, but more that someone might recognize her or she might decide not to come back. Amelia had given up everything to be Ginny’s agent. Sure, she was gaining more clients now, but Ginny was the most important. 

She was pretty sure Ginny just needed some space, but then Mike disappeared. She knew they were together. It was too much of a coincidence to be anything else. He had either known where Ginny was all along or had figured it out after she came to see him. It didn’t matter. What mattered was that as of Sunday morning Ginny still hadn’t checked in with her.

“Still no sightings on twitter?” She snapped at Eliot who was patrolling social media on three separate devices. 

“No… nope, nothing,” He mumbled, quickly closing a post that said Mike had been spotted at the Portland airport Friday. He didn’t want to lie to his boss, but he liked Ginny. She treated him like a friend most of the time. Eliot had seen her struggle with Mike and Amelia's relationship and later with the aftermath of their break up. He saw the way they looked at each other and his little shipper heart couldn’t help but be team Bawson. 

Amelia ground her teeth. She knew she couldn’t file a missing persons report. Ginny wasn’t lost. She chose to leave. Amelia had told Ginny she could have a week. That left 3 more days before she could really be mad at her for disappearing. 

Still, Amelia thought they were friends, or at least friendly. This ice out hurt more than she cared to admit. Furthermore, she wasn’t blind to the sparks that were constant arcing between Ginny and Mike. 

While Ginny had come a long way to cementing herself in the sport and in history, dating her team captain would certainly cause more than a little media attention. If photos of them where ever they were surfaced, she couldn’t control the way the story read. 

“Make sure you tell me the minute you get a lead,” she mumbled, chewing her thumb nervously 

“You got it, Boss.”


	6. Zip lines

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ginny drags Mike out for an adventure.

“So, what’s on the agenda for today,” Ginny asked, munching on a piece of bacon. 

“I don’t know. I’m the one crashing your vacation. What were you planning to do?”

“The hotel has a zip line course I was going to try.”

“Zip line? Really?”

“Too much excitement for ya, old man?”

He scoffed. “I think I can manage.”

An hour later they were strapped into harnesses, standing on a platform 65 feet in the air, when he realized he really didn’t want to do it. 

“How long is it again?” He asked nervously. 

“480 feet,” the instructor answered with a shrug. 

“It’s ok if you want to bail,” Ginny said. She wasn’t teasing for once. Mike looked over the ledge, then leaned close to the instructor. 

“I think you are going to have to push me,” he whispered. 

“No worries, man. Happens all the time.” The guy whispered back, then turned to Ginny. “On three step off. One… two… three.” Mike felt a moment of sheer panic as the guy gave him a firm shove. Then he was zipping through the air. He could hear Ginny laughing and looked in her direction. She was grinning ear to ear and she had never looked more beautiful. 

They landed on the other side and she immediately turned to him. “You ok?”

“I’m amazing. You good?”

“The next one is twice as long. It is the fastest on the course. We go over a lake, and you can drag your feet in the water,” she babbled excitedly. 

Mike grimaced. “I gotta get my feet wet?”

“Well, you don’t ‘have’ to, but you can. It is the only zip line in the area where you can touch the water.”

“Your lucky I brought extra sneakers.”

“I told you to bring extra sneakers,” she laughed. 

“Yeah, well, if I had known why, I might not have.”

"God, I almost forgot what a curmudgeon you are sometimes.”

“Curmudgeon? I’ll show you a curmudgeon. Whoever gets the wettest doesn’t have to buy dinner tonight.” 

“You are on. I was made for this.” She turned to the guy who had been clipping them in and he gave her a nod. She turned around and pushed off the railing backwards, zipping through the air in a blur. Mike watched for a second, before stepping off after her. The guy must have been listening to their conversation, because at one point he went completely into the water and when he popped back up, she was soaked from head to toe too. 

“You happy now, you little shit?” He asked as they troweled off. The answer was already clear from her double dimpled grin.

“I can’t believe you actually did that,” she laughed.

“Yeah, me neither.” He really couldn’t. If it had been anyone else asking. He would have laughed in their face, but this girl had him wrapped around her little finger, and it seemed like she didn’t even know it. 

“I think we’ll have to call it a draw,” she sighed, ruffling his hair with her towel. He noticed she was shivering a little. 

“Come on, Baker. You can lose at another game of scrabble when we get back to the house. There is a hot shower calling my name.”

“Not if I get there first.” She took off at a full run, towel still around her shoulders. He jogged after her, even though he knew she would beat him, because what the hell else was he supposed to do.


	7. Scrabble part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ginny is really bad at scrabble.

She did lose at scrabble again, badly. Mike’s score was literally triple hers, but she had fun. He told her more about his college days. She told him about the scholarship she didn’t take. More importantly she told him that she still thought about how her life would have been different if she hadn’t been scouted in high school. 

“You would have never met me,” he said with a smug shrug. “And doesn’t that really make it all worth it?”

She laughed. “Yes, of course, it was always my dream to play with the great Mike Lawson.”

“You joke, but I bet my rookie card is still in your wallet.”

She blushed. “It isn’t like a take it out and stare at it. I mean how often do you clean out your wallet?”

“My wallet gets cleaned out every time I take you to breakfast. I still don’t understand how you can eat that much and look they way you do.”

She was tempted to ask how he thought she looked, but that could only cause more of the same awkwardness from earlier that morning. “Well I guess it is a good ting I am footing the bill for dinner again. What are you up for? I’m starving.” 

“Saw a little place not to far away. Did you bring a dress?”

“A dress?”

“Yeah, a dress, you know its like a shirt and pants, but it’s sewn together and there is one big leg hole that you put both legs in.”

“Ya now, I think I’ve heard of it.”

There was a long pause. “Well…”

“So, this place is like a nice place?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t do recon, I just drove by but it looks nice-ish. White table clothes and candles kind of place, some ritzy Italian name, hell I just thought a nice bowl of risotto sounded good. We can get hot dogs at the gas station or tree service for all I care.”

“I am never eating gas station hot dogs again. After a year on the bus with Stubbs I can no longer stomach the smell. I could go for risotto. I have been missing Evs home cooking, and I’m pretty sure I threw one of the ‘dress’ things you were talking about in my bag, but you do know a girl doesn’t have to wear a dress to be dressed up or go out right.”

“Baker, you could wear sweats for all I care. I just, when I was with Rach, she always got made at me if I didn’t tell her we were going some place nice, and then we got there, and she felt underdressed.”

Ginny frowned. The more Mike told her about his ex, the more she disliked the women, and she hadn't been a fan to begin with. All the stories made it seem like Rachel blamed him for their problems, when it was usually her insecurities or ambitions as much as his that got in the way. 

“I’ll just be a few minutes,” she said with a smile, grabbing a few things and heading for the bathroom. Mike changed into suit pants and a button down, then sat down for a long wait. Growing up with four sisters, he knew how long women could stay in the bathroom. Not five minutes later, the door popped open.

“Ready?” She asked stepping out in a navy cocktail dress. He breath caught in his throat. It wasn’t a particularly revealing cut, but she looked gorgeous. Her toned arms were completely bare and her long legs were framed with a belled tea-length skirt. “What? Not dressy enough? Is it because we are both wearing navy? I didn’t bring another dress, so if that’s the problem it looks like you are the one changing.”

Mike shook his head. He looked down out his shirt and realized it was almost the exact same color as her dress. “No, you look great. Clean up good, and fast. I was just surprised. I’ve never seen a women get ready to go out in less than 10 minutes.”

“You only miss the team bus once before you learn to get ready fast.”

“You’re kidding…”

“Nope, and hitchhiking in Texas in July isn't as fun as you might think.” Mike looked like he might ask some kind of follow up, but she brushed him off. “Come on, old man. We are going to be late for the early bird special.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I meant for this to be the dinner and dancing chapter, but then I started writing, and this came out instead. Next will be the dinner scene *promise*


	8. Dinner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dinner at a romantic restaurant with your platonic best friend... what could go wrong...

Mike was right. It was a nicer place and she was glad to not be wearing jeans and a shirt, but she didn’t say that as they were led to their table. The restaurant was about half full, but she didn’t notice anyone look up as she walked by. She sighed in relief when they were seated in a booth in the back corner. 

“Anything catching your eye?” Mike asked, setting down his menu. 

“I was thinking about the risotto, mostly because you brought it up, and it sounds amazing, but then there is the gnocchi with sage butter…”

“We could share. I like gnocchi.”

She looked up at him and stared hard for minute. The line between friends and something else was getting blurrier by the minute. 

“If you don’t want to…”

“No, that sounds great. Best of both worlds,” she said with more confidence than she felt. He looked like he might argue. It was clearly she was uncomfortable, but the waiter came back and she ordered for them both along with a nice bottle of wine. 

“You’re making me look like a kept man,” he teased when the waiter left. 

“Well, I am paying for dinner so…” 

He laughed. “That’s it no more scrabble we have to play something you’re good at so I can earn back my dignity.”

“Maybe I’m not really bad at scrabble, I just like taking care of you.”

He looked at her for a long moment. “Nope, not possible. You are too competitive to throw a game.”

“True, which is why tomorrow’s game is speed. I’m not sure if that’s fair though. Your reflexes have slowed so much with age…”

They fell back into comfortable banter. The food came. They snagged bites off each other's plates. It felt comfortable for the most part, until Ginny finished eating. She leaned into the booth sighing in a way he had only ever heard a woman sigh after really good sex. Her eyes were a little glazed and she looked perfectly relaxed.

“That was… amazing.” 

"I know, you barely came up for air,” he teased, trying to shift and ease the tension he was feeling. 

“Why don’t we eat like this all the time? Like, if I had your money. I would just have a private chef that made stuff like that for me and I would never leave my house.”

"You would get bored."

“Na, I would invite you over to entertain me in exchange for some of my awesome food.”

“Court jester to the great and powerful Ginny Baker… I don’t know, that would have to be some food.” 

“You know you would come over for ramen if I invited you.”

He couldn’t argue with that, so instead he looked away. In another corner of the restaurant a few couples were dancing. 

“Do you want to?” He jerked his head in that direction. 

“I thought you didn’t dance?”

“Not that loud club grinding, but I can cut a rug if the time is right.”

“Well, this I have to see.” 

He held his hand out to her as he stood. She took it, trying not to think too much. It was a little awkward. He put his hands on her waist, hers went up to his shoulders. They swayed to the music. 

“What’s with all the space?” She asked. He was holding her at arms length. 

“Just, you know, trying to maintain boundaries…” 

“Lawson, we just ate a romantic dinner. We are sharing a bedroom. I think we are way past appropriate boundaries. So get over here, because you are making me feel like I’m at homecoming.” She said, pulling him closer. 

“Things were a lot tamer at you’re homecoming than mine,” he joked, wiggling his eyebrows as his hands relaxed, drifting further down her back. 

“To be fair, I never actually went to a dance. I was just guessing from cheesy Disney channel movies.”

“None? Not even prom or senior ball?” 

Ginny looked down, shrugging. “I had better things to do.”

He thought there was something there, but the slight glossiness of her eyes hinted that it was a memory better left in the past. He smiled is most charming smile and pulled her in close. She rested her head on his shoulder, the combination of good wine, great food and his warm presence relaxing her.

That night they lay in their beds facing each other. 

“Hey, Mike, I just want to say that I had a really good time tonight. I’m glad you came to find me.”

“Yeah, me too. I been to a lot of dances in my life, Gin, but I never had as much fun as do with you.” 

Ginny stared, not sure what to say, but he just shook his head. 

“Go to sleep, Rook. Tomorrow’s my day, and I am so getting you back for that whole ‘zipline’ thing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any suggestions are welcome.


	9. Surfin'

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mike's turn to pick an activity.

She kicked her legs as something brushed her foot. A weird not quite itch came right back. She kicked again hard, trying to get the offending thing away from her. She connected with something surprisingly solid. Something that hit the ground with a loud thunk. Ginny’s eyes flew open. She looked out the window, but it was still dark.

“Shit, Baker. Next time I’m waking you up with a bucket of water.”

She scramble onto her knees and saw Mike crumbled on the floor. Clutching a feather to his chest. “Did you seriously try to tickle my foot to wake me up?”

“You didn’t like the steamroller yesterday, so I just thought…”

“What’s wrong with an alarm clock, in like another 3-4 hours at a more decent time.”

“The waves wait for no man, or woman.”

“Waves?”

“Yep, up and at’em, rookie. We’re going surfing!” 

Half hour later, they pulled into the parking lot. The sun was just coming up. Mike went to the rental shop to get them boards and wet suits. When he got back Ginny had her feet buried in the sand. 

“Are we really doing this?”

“Not if you don’t want to.”

“Do you know how?”

“Yeah, I live in San Diego, in a beach house. I’ve been surfing for years. I take it you’ve never…”

“No, I lived and breathed baseball.”

“It’s not as hard as people think, especially for someone like you.”

“What does that mean?”

“You’re athletic. You have good balance and body control. I mean, if I can do it,”

“Ok, where do we start?”

Half hour later, Mike was chest deep in the water and Ginny was straddling the board. “I could just sit on the beach. I have a book. You don’t have to waste your time teaching me.”  
“Gin, if you don’t want to do it, just say so, but I like doing stuff ‘with’ you.”

She took a deep breath. She was a little scared, but if she learned and it was fun, this would be another way for them to spend time together. “I’m ready.” 

“Just like we practiced.”

“Hands down, chest up, feet planted.”

“You got this. I’ll be right here.”

The next wave rolled towards them. She nodded, the same nod she gave him on the mound. He pushed her off, and then she was gliding through the water like she had done it all her life. The third wave she got up and turned back to grin at him. 

“Eyes where you want to go, Babe.” 

Her head snapped back toward the beach. He kicked himself. He was sure as soon as she paddled back out to him he was going to get an earful. 

“Did you see me? I really did it!” She grinned. It was almost like she hadn’t heard him. Maybe she hadn’t.

“You did great, but in all fairness, I knew you would.” 

“You would take all the credit.” 

An hour later, they lay on the beach soaking up the mid morning sun. They were both exhausted. Ginny had picked up the basics quickly. He had even ad a little time to surf himself. 

“I can feel you watching me.”

“So.”

“So, it’s annoying. Go get my book from the car and read. I’m taking a nap, because someone woke me up before DAWN!”

“You had fun.”

Her eyes popped open and she grinned at him. “I had fun, but now I want a nap. So stop being a creeper and let me get some sleep.” Then she closed her eyes again rather pointedly. 

“What book did you bring?”

“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.”

“God, you make me feel old.”

“I make you feel young and you love it."

He couldn't argue with that.


	10. It's monday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Their trip is coming to an end.

“It’s Monday,” she said without looking up from her book. It was mid afternoon and they had been just lounging around the treehouse since they got home from the beach. 

“And?”

“I'm supposed to be back on Wednesday.”

“… and?”

“What happens then?”

He shrugged. “It’s the off season, Baker. We just relax, clean out the TiVo, avoid the gym, maybe do a little surfing, maybe even golf. Spring training will be here before you know it.”

She nodded vaguely without meet his eye and went back to her book. 

He knew he was missing something. She clearly wanted to talk, but for some reason she was nervous. “Did you have something in particular you wanted to do when we get back?”

“No,” she answered a little too quickly. 

“Is there any reason you even have to be back? I usually go to Cabo around this time.”

“Amelia gave me a week to, you know, get my head in order. I'm sure she is already losing her mind. I think this is the longest we’ve gone without speaking since we met.”

“You do know she works for You, right? If you want to take more time, you can just call her and say so.”

“Amelia is just looking out for me,” she sighed. She had always spent her off season training. She was fighting biology, trying to crape her way up through the minors. This escape was one of the first things she had really done for herself in 24 years. It had been great, but she knew their window of peace and solitude was drawing to a close. She knew he wouldn’t want some rookie around all the time cramping his style. 

“Amelia is looking out for your Career. I’m looking out for You, and I say you need more of a break than just a week.”

She didn’t say another for a moment, clearly digesting what he had just said, a myriad of emotions flickering over her face. 

“You still there, Baker?” 

“Yeah, I’m still here. Let’s go get some greasy pub fries and chicken wings. The bar down the street is having trivia night tonight, and I’m going to put that big college educated brain to work earning me a free beer.”

He knew they weren’t done with this conversation, but he was hungry. They still had one more day. He was going to make the most of it.


	11. Weird awakenings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mike is a creep sometimes... Ginny doesn't mind.

They had gotten in late the night before. Closing down the bar after their trivia night victory. She thought for sure that she would not get one of his weird wake ups, but then there he was just staring at her, his face an inch away from his on the mattress. 

“Listen old man, you know I love you, but I’m sleeping still, so just go finish your crossword or something and come back at a decent hour.” 

“What?” He pulled back to really look at her. She was sleep rumpled and most assuredly only sort of awake. In fact, her eyes were already closed again as of she hadn't said anything remarkable.

“I said come back later,” she murmured without lifting her head. She blindly threw a pillow at him. 

“Ginny, you do realize you just said you loved me right?”

Her head snapped off the mattress. Her eyes blinking rapidly. “Um yeah, you know in a teammates slash friends kinda way. Like, I love you man…” Her voice took on a deeper timber as she tried to sound manly. 

“Oh,”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, oh,” he shrugged. “For a minute there…”

“What? For a minute there, what?”

“Nothing.”

“Lawson?”

“Baker?”

Fear clenched in the pit of her stomach. If she was wrong, and she said something, everything would be ruined, but even in the dark she could see the disappointment in his eyes. “For a minute there you thought I had romantic feelings for you. Like I spent all night thinking about kissing you. Like right now all I can think about is pulling you into bed with me and…” 

Whatever she was going to say was cut off when his lips touched hers. By the way his hand slid up her thigh, she thought he got the idea. From all his talk, she knew he would be amazing. His hands were so sure that she just meant into him.

“Hey, you still here?” He asked brushing his nose against hers to get her to meet his eyes.  
“Yeah, I’m here.” She smirked. 

“So, we are really doing this?”

“If you can keep up,” she teased her hand slipping into his shorts. He laughed before slipping his own into her shirt.


	12. Padre's Dynamic Duo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They were trying to kill her, Amelia just knew it

Padre’s Dynamic Duo win small town trivia contest. Ginny Baker and Mike Lawson spotted in Pacific City killing it at trivia and looking really cozy. 

They were trying to kill her. She clicked on the link, and the picture that loaded didn’t contradict her first thought. There was Mike Lawson with his arm around Ginny Baker. She was clutching his shirt, her head thrown back in laughter. 

How could they be so stupid? They had to have known they would get spotted. The fact that it had taken so long was the real surprise. 

Of all the places Ginny could have gone, Amelia never would guessed Oregon. She wondered how Mike had known. Had Ginny called him? Had she said something to him before she left? Maybe Mike had figured it out on his own, but if that was the case, what did it say about his relationship with Ginny. They certainly looked comfortable with each other in the picture. 

How was she going to spin this? She needed an angle. Ginny on vacation was a story she could handle. Ginny vacationing alone with her much older team captain was not the kind of press they needed. She wanted to kick herself for even going to Mike in the first place. 

She dialed her assistant. “Eliot, I found them. I need to you to book a first class ticket to Portland as soon as possible. Then I need you to get me a list of everyone currently running the story.”

“Of course, I’ll text you the details once I have them.” Eliot went online. The first two flights out first class was ‘full’, so he booked her on the 6pm. Then he shot both Mike and Ginny a quick text to give them a heads up. As he scrolled through the results for #GinnyBaker.

A few articles were filled with rampant speculation, but others were just the basic facts. Some were even in support of them either as a couple or just hanging out. The small town blog that had originally released the story said that they were great people, very friendly. Mike even bought everyone in the bar a round after their big win. 

He forwarded the worst ones to Amelia and saved the original for future reference. He had a feeling this was the start of something big.


	13. Bowling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mike and Ginny go bowling.

“This? This was your big adventure for our last day? Bowling?” Ginny had just pulled the blindfold from her eyes and was staring in disbelief at a rundown bowling alley.

“A girl who golfs has literally no room to talk about choosing exciting activities, and it’s not just bowling. It’s Neon Bowling!” 

She couldn’t keep the smile from her face at his excited grin. “Alright, let’s go rent shoes.” 

He was actually a decent bowler. She figured as much. He didn’t really like doing things he wasn’t good at. That was why they didn't go to the driving range very often. When they did go, she appreciated the gesture all the more. 

“Are you sure you don’t want bumpers?” He teased after her third gutter ball. She rolled her eyes. 

“Yeah, I sure. Are you sure you’re not just a massive bag of douche?” 

"They have a ramp you can use.”

She flipped him off, threw the ball down the alley and hit a strike. “Keep talking, old man. I was just getting a feel for it.” 

“Lucky throw,” he shrugged. Then his ball went into the rolled right into the gutter. 

“Karma, my friend, Karma.” She threw a spare.

“I’m sorry, Babe. You clearly have some skill under there somewhere. We are just going to have to get in a lot of practice in the off-season. Maybe we can join a league…” He leaned into her, their lips almost brushing before both of their phones buzzed. 

“Shit,” she batted at his chest, darting away. “We are in public, Mike.”

“Who’s going to say anything? We are bowling in pacific city Oregon on a Tuesday in the middle of the day, and I’m pretty Mr. Magoo who rented our shoes, isn't going to say anything.”

She rolled her eyes and picked up her phone. “Shit, Mr. Magoo may not care, but someone does. Elliot says Amelia’s on her way.”

“Why?”

“He sent me a link. Apparently winning at the bar last night was news. Someone blogged about it, which got picked up, and now I’m sure every news outlet has it.”

“So, what are they saying? What good does it do her or you for her to come? We were planning on heading bad tomorrow anyway.”

“I don’t know. She is probably coming to tell me how stupid I was for disappearing and then getting spotted with you. She’s been texting and calling everyday, but I was really enjoying just being Ginny not THE Ginny Baker.”

“So, call her and remind her that she works for you and that you are taking the week off. She’s not your mom. She’s your manager. Tell her you’ll be back tomorrow, and you can deal with the story then. Tonight we can just stay in and have tree service and not get in too much trouble. Besides, I’m thinking about going to bed early tonight.”

“I guess all this bowling really took it out of you. I forgot you old men need your sleep. 

“Who said anything about sleep?” He winked. She rolled her eyes and stepped away to call Amelia. It was a tough conversation, but she knew Mike was right. Amelia was her manager. She needed to start making choices for herself. Amelia was there to advise, not decide, and she was looking forward to calling it an early night.


	14. The begining in the end

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One last chat before they head home.

It was the first morning where she woke up first. Maybe she had well and truly worn him out. She was certainly feeling the after effects of a very long night in all the right places. She lay in the little double bed with Mike pressed against her back, thinking about all the weird ways he had woken her up. It was finally her turn. She didn’t have an air horn, and a bucket of cold water was too mean. 

She finally settled on tickling. She was dragging her fingers up and down his side, when he jolted awake. 

“Hey,” he said, blinking a few times. 

“Hey, yourself.” 

“A guy could get used to this.” He tried to stretch, but it nearly knocked her off the bed. “Waking up with you, not the bed. That is the one thing I’m looking forward to.”

“Your bed?”

“Yeah, you’re going to love it.”

"I’m sure” she smirked.

“Not because of that, well, obviously because of the sex, because, I mean, I’m awesome and you’re awesome and together man, you and I are going places.”

“Like, to your bed.” She said septically.

“Not if you don’t want to but I thought, after what you said…” 

“I know what I said, but you never said anything. It’s not like we agreed to anything, so I didn’t want to assume anything.” 

“Gin, you know how much I care about you. I wouldn’t have come all this way for anyone else.”

She shrugged. 

“Hey, look at me here. It’s important. We’re important.”

Finally, she looked him in the eye. 

“This is really new, and intense. With you in the spotlight, the optics aren’t great. People are going to talk. Hell, they’d talk no matter who you were with, but me, it’s gonna be a shit storm.”

“I know,” she sighed, dropping her head again. 

“No,” his finger dragged her chin back up. “Listen. I’m not saying I don’t want to try. I’m saying, we keep this between us. You are over at my place all the time anyway. And then when you leave me for someone younger and hotter, it won’t be this big media circus.”

"More like when you leave me for someone younger and hotter. I'm not the one who takes home a different model every night.”

“I’m not the one who got champagne from Drake.”

“I don’t want champagne from Drake.”

“Well, I don’t want a different model every night.”

“Really? Why not?”

“Because I actually like spending time with you. I want to come home to you. I want to fall asleep with you and wake up with you. I love you, Ginny but that hasn't really worked out for me before, so would rather we just keep you and me between you and me for now.” 

“Ok.”

“Ok?”

“Ok, I’m hungry. We should get breakfast before it’s time to go to the airport.” 

Years later, people would ask them why a dinky plastic trivia night trophy sat between their matching world series rings on the mantel. They would just smile at each other.

Their kids knew the story or at least part of it. They knew the winning question. Who was the eldest Marx Brother? They knew that their father had known the answer, and that their mother mocked him constantly for it, and his age and anything else she could come up with. Mike Lawson and Ginny Baker took a lot of vacations over the years, but they never forgot the magic treehouse where they fell in love.


End file.
